June 24, 2014

The Camley Street mystery

Today I went to the London Wildlife Trust's Camley Street reserve at lunchtime, to have a nosey around. It's just up the road from where I work, in King's Cross, and on such a warm day I expected it to be busy – but there were only a few other people there. There were coots on Regent's Canal, and blue tits were begging to be fed in the undergrowth; the 'gypsy-coloured engines' of red and azure damselflies skimmed over the surface of the pond.

On one of the shady, woodchip paths I came across two clumps of feathers and skin, evidence of recent predation. The feathers were a rich, ruddy red, slightly iridescent at their tips, with subtle mottling and grey down beneath. Had I been in the countryside I might have said pheasant, but surely that's not possible in central London?

I took a feather to the site office to ask for an ID, but they weren't sure either. If you're confident you know what the bird was, tweet me!

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About Me

Melissa Harrison won the John Muir Trust's Wild Writing award in 2010. Her first novel, CLAY, won the Portsmouth First Fiction award. Her second, AT HAWTHORN TIME, was shortlisted for the Costa and longlisted for the Baileys. She writes a Nature Notebook column for The Times and her most recent book is Rain: Four Walks in English Weather.